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Two years later Muffin produced her first litter and we have never looked back. In the earlier years I put obedience titles on 5 of my dogs. Also, there have been many Keeshonden with the Klompen name that have had successful show careers. We stopped counting after producing or owning over 50 champions. Seven are all breed Best in Show winners. Nine have won Best of Breed in Specialty Shows. Fourteen have won Best Puppy in Shows. Many have placed within the top national ratings for the breed, both in conformation and obedience. Our dogs have held every award that has been offered by the KCC over the years. Some of these awards have been won on several occasions. One of our dogs is the top owner handled Kees in Canada's History. His name was Can Am Ch Klompen's Tommy Tittlemouse, CD CHOF COM.
In 1995, I decided to go a step further and applied for my license to judge dogs. The hardest part of making this decision was knowing that, in my opinion, it would be considered a conflict of interest to campaign my dogs and judge at the same time. Hence, I have not campaigned a dog since that time. Fortunately, I have found that I get as much enjoyment from judging as I did showing. I am now qualified to judge all of the Non-Sporting, Working dogs and am on permit for 1/2 of the Toy Group. The highlights include being honoured to ask to judge Keeshond Specialty shows in both the USA and Australia. I also judged a Siberian Specialty while in Australia.
While my post-secondary education was with Retail Management, Fashion and Interior Design, I have spent very little time in these occupations; being content instead to be a mother, home maker and volunteer in many aspects of the dog world. I have held various positions for several all breed clubs, as well as for both the Keeshond Club of Canada and the Keeshond Club of America. I am presently the newsletter editor for the Canadian Dog Judges' Association. I was instrumental in the final production and decision making stages of the Keeshond Club of America's Illustrated Standard for the Keeshond. I was also on the KCA's Health Committee.
I joined the Keeshond Club of Canada in 1977 and over the years have held the following positions: Webmaster, Secretary, Provincial Representative, Newsletter Editor, Awards Secretary, Statistician (Obedience and Conformation), and DOGS IN CANADA correspondant.
My hobbies include: sewing, gardening, playing bridge, designing homes, designing both the KCC website and our Klompen web site, and reading dog related material.
For more information about me, my family and my dogs you are invited to visit our web site at: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/klompen/.